New York Toy Fair 2018 Report: North Star Games!

One of the first things I did when I got to New York Toy Fair was run to the North Star Games booth. They sent out a press release earlier in the week announcing Happy Planet, a new line of party games that are similar to Happy Salmon!

North Star Games has an very specific focus with these new games. They want to, simply, make people happier. They told me the story of how they made their decision while I was at their booth. One of the things they noticed as they watched people play Happy Salmon last year was that no one who played the game came out unhappy when they were finished. It wasn’t the deepest game. It wasn’t the heaviest game. It didn’t have all sorts of miniatures or other trappings from popular board games, but it was designed just well enough to make everyone smile.

This was really exciting to watch, so they set out to do it again. The results of their efforts are two new games that made me smile just watching them.

Funky Chicken

Funky chicken, which can be identified by its chicken shaped carrying case, is more or less an expansion to Happy Salmon. It includes four new moves:

Swing – Wherein players will link arms like they are Swing dancing and spin around.

For real folks… just READING that made most of you smile. Imagine how much fun playing it will be?

The Monster Match Game

The Monster Match Game isn’t related to Happy Salmon directly at all. This is a matching game where an series of cards are laid out on the table. Players roll a pair of dice. One of the dice represents an number between zero and five. The other will show either eyes, arms, or legs. Players then race to pick an card featuring an monster that has the appropriate number of arms/legs/eyes indicated on the dice. Play continues until the deck is done. The game is adorable, fast, and accessible for almost all ages.

There is a deeper strategy as well. Each card has a stack of doughnuts on them and the winner is determined by who has the most doughnuts on their total cards at the end of the game.

I didn’t get to play a complete round of either of these games, but just talking about them and watching other people play put a smile on my face. I can’t help but think that you and your family would feel the same way. These games will be available at retail soon and will be available for a relatively low price. Keep your eye on EFG for more information about these games.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

Make sure to keep your eyes on Engaged Family Gaming for all of the latest news and reviews you need to Get Your Family Game On!

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About Stephen Duetzmann

Editor in Chief

So...who am I?

And, what makes me qualified to do this?

Well, I can tell you that I am not a web developer, or a journalist, or even a game designer. I am a Dad. I like to game. I want to game with my children. And, I have some ideas that I want to share with the world.

I'm 32 years old and I have been gaming all of my life. I'm into all kinds of games, and not just video games. Board games, tabletop games, card games and yes, even LARP games.

I've got a full time job, and I'm going back to school. I have an amazing wife and 3 wonderful children. My oldest is a 7 year old boy who is super smart and a total spazz. He's extremely excited to share his VAST (lol) video game knowledge with the world. My middle child is just learning about video games. He's 4 and he spends his time obsessing over his favorite super heroes or ponies, depending on the day. He LOVES playing games with his Daddy and big brother. My youngest is 6 months old and is learning to explore her world. She can often be found sleeping on her Daddy while I play test new games.

So, that's who I am. I'm just your typical super busy Dad who wants to share my gaming experiences with all of you.

Oh, and another thing! This website isn't all about me. I happen to have a wonderful group of friends and experts along for the ride with me. They are going to share terrific gaming information with you, too. View all posts by Stephen Duetzmann →

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